Taiwan adding signs, mobile services in mountains following rise in accidents

Taipei, June 5 (CNA) Thousands of signs giving directions and marking locations, as well as mobile network coverage, have been added in Taiwan's forests and mountains due to the growing number of accidents involving hikers in recent years, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said on Thursday.

The number of accidents involving hikers has been increasing since the government eased restrictions on access to more than 80 forestry roads previously only used for logging and by residents living in mountainous areas.

The access restrictions to the mountainous and forested areas in Taiwan were eased in late 2019, and the application of different entry permits to restricted areas was streamlined so that it can be done through one online portal.

Data compiled by the National Fire Agency showed the annual number of accidents in mountainous areas that required rescue services more than doubled from 207 in 2019 to 454 in 2020, and reached 513 in 2023.

The agency said getting lost and injured are the two most common types of accidents, noting that 3,420 signs offering directions had been placed as of January.

According to the agency, the road signs are yellow and diamond-shaped, showing coordinates in the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) and Taiwan's TWD97 system.

The signs also show the name of the path or trail, and key locations along the way, in Chinese, along with two numbers -- the total length under a distance marker -- in kilometers.

These signs are placed every 100 meters, the agency said.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,381 signs, which are also yellow, have been placed at locations where mobile network coverage is available in the mountainous areas and forests, as of February, the agency said.

These signs are placed by the three telecom companies in Taiwan, whose staff check to ensure there is reception in remote areas, according to the statement.

The 1,381 signs can be found in the 19 forestry recreation areas and along trails and tracks maintained by the agency in charge of affairs involving forests, which cover around 60 percent of the land in Taiwan.

Telecom companies also work with national park headquarters and have put in place signs indicating mobile service coverage in areas such as Taroko in Hualien or on Yushan in central Taiwan, an agency official told CNA on Thursday.

The agency also advised visitors to download maps from the government portal (https://data.gov.tw/en/) or Rudy Map, created with the free and open map database MOI. OSM-Taiwan TOPO, which has the same information shown by the signs and can be used offline.